Detecting content consumption

ABSTRACT

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for providing content are disclosed. In one aspect, a set of interaction data specifying one or more types of user interactions with a resource is received for a user. A determination is made, based on the interaction data, that the user is in a first engagement category from at least two different engagement categories. A request for a content item to be provided to the user is received. A content item having a bid specifying an amount that a content item provider is willing to pay for distribution of the content item to a user in the first engagement category is identified. A determination is made, based on the outcome of an auction performed using the bid, that the bid is a winning bid. The content item is provided for presentation in response to the request.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION

The present application is a Broadening Reissue of U.S. Pat. No.10,503,466 (previously U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/600,308,filed May 19, 2017), which is a continuation of and claims priority toU.S patent application Ser. No. 13/945,406, entitled “DETECTING CONTENTCONSUMPTION”, filed Jul. 18, 2013, the disclosures of which is areincorporated herein by reference in its their entirety.

BACKGROUND

This specification relates to data processing and content distribution.

The Internet facilitates the exchange of information and transactionsbetween users across the globe. This exchange of information enablescontent item providers to provide sponsored content to a variety ofusers. A content item provider can control the distribution of theircontent items (e.g., promotions, advertisements, audio files, videofiles, or other content items) based on a set of distribution parametersthat specify under what conditions a content item is eligible to bedistributed. When a presentation opportunity meeting the conditions isavailable, the content item provided by a content item provider isdeemed eligible to be provided for presentation.

SUMMARY

In general, one innovative aspect of the subject matter described inthis specification can be embodied in methods that include the actionsof receiving, for a user, a first set of interaction data specifying oneor more types of user interactions with a resource over a first periodof time and a rate with which at least one of the types of userinteractions occurred; determining, based on the user interaction data,that the user is in a first engagement category from at least twodifferent engagement categories; receiving a request for a content itemto be provided to the user; identifying a content item having a firstbid specifying a first amount that a content item provider is willing topay for distribution of the content item to a user in the firstengagement category; determining, based on the outcome of an auctionperformed using the first bid, that the first bid is a winning bid; andproviding the content item for presentation in response to the requestbased on the first bid being determined to be the winning bid.

Other embodiments of this aspect include corresponding systems,apparatus, and computer programs, configured to perform the actions ofthe methods, encoded on computer storage devices. These and otherembodiments can each optionally include one or more of the followingfeatures.

Methods can include operations including receiving, from the contentitem provider, distribution criteria specifying that the content item iseligible to be provided to users that are associated with the firstengagement category; receiving, from the content item provider, thefirst bid; receiving, from the content item provider, distributioncriteria specifying that the content item is eligible to be provided tousers that are associated with a second engagement category, the secondengagement category corresponding to a lower level of engagement withcontent of the resource than the first engagement category; andreceiving, from the content item provider, a second bid specifying asecond amount that the content item provider is willing to pay fordistribution of the content item to a user in the second engagementcategory, the second bid being different than the first bid.

Methods can include operations including receiving updated interactiondata specifying one or more types of user interactions with a resourceover a second period of time different from the first period of time;determining, based on the updated interaction data, that the user is inthe second engagement category; receiving a second request for a contentitem to be provided to the user; determining whether the second bid is awinning bid for a second auction; and providing, in response to thesecond request, a content item associated with the winning bid for thesecond auction.

Methods can include operations including providing a campaign managementinterface that enables a content item provider to select, for the firstcontent item one or more engagement categories to be associated with thecontent item, the association of an engagement category with the contentitem indicating that the content item is eligible for distribution tousers determined to be in the engagement category.

Receiving updated interaction data can include receiving interactiondata that deviates from a reference set of interaction data for theuser; and determining that the user is in a second engagement categorycomprises determining, based on the deviation, that the user is in thesecond engagement category.

Determining that the user is in the first engagement category caninclude: determining, based on the interaction data, a first set of userinteractions that preceded a particular interaction with a content itemprovided in response to a previous content item request; determiningthat a matching set of user interactions were performed within apre-specified amount of time prior to the request, the matching set ofuser interactions being user interactions that match the first set ofuser interactions; and determining that the user is in the firstengagement category based on the determination that the matching set ofuser interactions were performed within the pre-specified amount of timeprior to the request.

Methods can include operations including receiving presentation data fortwo or more presentations of a document, the presentation data for eachpresentation specifying one or more portions of the document that werepresented at a user device; receiving user interaction data representinguser interactions with one or more portions of content presented in theone or more portions of the document, the user interaction dataspecifying a type of user interaction with the portion of content and arate at which at least one of the user interaction types occurred whilethe document was presented at the user device; determining, based on theinteraction data, a measure of readership for the one or more portionsof content, the measure of readership for each portion specifying aportion of users that read the portion of content, the determinationbeing based, at least in part, on a speed of occurrence for at least oneuser interaction being within a range corresponding to content beingread; and providing a reader profile for the document based on themeasure of readership for the one or more portions of content.

Determining that the user is in the first engagement category caninclude determining that the user is in a content reader category ratherthan a content skimmer category.

The engagement categories can each be associated with contextinformation. The request for the content item can include first contextinformation describing the context of the request. Determining that theuser is in the first engagement category can include matching the firstcontext information to second context information associated with thefirst engagement category.

The first context information can include one or more of a time of dayof the request, a day of week of the request, a time of year of therequest, a location of the request, or a type of content included in theresource.

The first set of interaction data can specify aggregate user interactiondata for multiple different users.

Methods can include operations including modifying content of theresource based on determining that the user is in the first engagementcategory.

Particular embodiments of the subject matter described in thisspecification can be implemented so as to realize none, one or more ofthe following advantages. A content provider can specify different bidsspecifying what the content provider is willing to pay for presentationof a content item to users who are in different engagement categories(e.g., based on their differing levels of engagement with contentprovided to the users). A readership profile can be provided to apublisher of a document. Content can be provided to a user based on alevel of engagement of the user with the content.

The details of one or more embodiments of the subject matter describedin this specification are set forth in the accompanying drawings and thedescription below. Other features, aspects, and advantages of thesubject matter will become apparent from the description, the drawings,and the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example environment in which content isdistributed to user devices.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of an example process for providing content.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of an example process for configuringdistribution of a content item.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example campaign management user interface throughwhich distribution criteria can be received.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of an example process for providing content.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of an example process for determining anengagement category for a user.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of an example process for providing a readershipprofile for a document.

FIG. 8 is block diagram of an example computer system.

Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicatelike elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One or more data processing apparatus can distribute content items to auser based, at least in part, on an engagement category to which theuser has been assigned. The engagement category for a particular usercan be selected, for example, based on a level of interaction by theuser with content that has been presented to the user. Users can performvarious interactions with content that are presented on a user device.For example, a user can move a cursor over the content, highlightcontent, scroll the content, etc. Such interactions and/or the rate ofsuch interactions can indicate a user's engagement with the content. Forexample, some users may move their cursor over content while they readthe content. As another example, a rate of scrolling of content canindicate whether the user may have read or merely skimmed the content.

In some implementations, a determination is made, based on current andhistorical user interaction data, that the user is in a particularengagement category (e.g., “content reader” rather than“content-skimmer”). In response to a request for a content item to beprovided to the user device, a content item can be selected based, atleast in part, on the engagement category of the user. For example, acontent provider can provide a content item having a bid specifying anamount that the content item provider is willing to pay for distributionof the content item to a user in a particular engagement category. Acontent distribution system can determine that the user is in theparticular engagement category and that such a bid is a winning bid inan auction performed in response to the request for content, and canprovide the content item to the user device, for presentation on theuser device.

For situations in which the systems discussed here collect informationabout users, or may make use of information about users, the users maybe provided with an opportunity to control whether programs or featurescollect user information (e.g., information about a user's socialnetwork, social actions or activities, profession, a user's preferences,or a user's current location), or to control whether and/or how toreceive content from a content server that may be more relevant to theuser. In addition, certain data may be treated in one or more waysbefore it is stored or used, so that certain information about the useris removed. For example, a user's identity may be treated so that noidentifying information can be determined for the user, or a user'sgeographic location may be generalized where location information isobtained (such as to a city, ZIP code, or state level), so that aparticular location of a user cannot be determined. Thus, the user mayhave control over how information about the user is collected and usedby the content server.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example environment 100 in which contentis distributed to user devices 106. The example environment 100 includesa network 102, such as a local area network (LAN), a wide area network(WAN), the Internet, or a combination thereof. The network 102 connectswebsites 104, user devices 106, content sponsors 108, and a contentdistribution system 110. The example environment 100 may include manydifferent websites 104, user devices 106, and content sponsors 108.

A website 104 is one or more resources 105 associated with a domain nameand hosted by one or more servers. An example website is a collection ofweb pages formatted in hypertext markup language (HTML) that can containtext, images, multimedia content, and programming elements, such asscripts. Each website 104 is maintained by a publisher, which is anentity that controls, manages and/or owns the website 104.

A resource 105 is data that can be provided over the network 102. Aresource 105 is identified by a resource address that is associated withthe resource 105. Resources include HTML pages, word processingdocuments, and portable document format (PDF) documents, images, video,and feed sources, to name only a few. The resources can include content,such as words, phrases, images and sounds, that may include embeddedinformation (such as meta-information in hyperlinks) and/or embeddedinstructions (such as scripts). Units of content that are presented in(or with) resources are referred to as content items, and an individualcontent item can be stored in a single file or set of files independentof the resource.

A user device 106 is an electronic device that is capable of requestingand receiving resources over the network 102. Example user devices 106include personal computers, mobile communication devices, and otherdevices that can send and receive data over the network 102. A userdevice 106 typically includes a user application, such as a web browser,to facilitate the sending and receiving of data over the network 102.

A user device 106 can submit a resource request 112 that requests aresource 105 from a website 104. In turn, data representing therequested resource 114 can be provided to the user device 106 forpresentation by the user device 106. The requested resource 114 can be,for example, a home page of a website 104, web page from a socialnetwork, or another resource 105. The data representing the requestedresource 114 can include data that cause presentation of resourcecontent 116 at the user device 106. The data representing the requestedresource 114 can also include data specifying content item slots 118. Acontent item slot is a portion of the resource (e.g., a portion of a webpage) or a portion of a user display (e.g., a presentation location ofanother window or in a slot of a web page) in which content items, suchas advertisements, can be presented. Content items slots 118 can also bereferred to as advertisement slots, but any type of content (e.g.,content items other than advertisements) can be presented in thesecontent item slots 118.

To facilitate searching of these resources, the environment 100 caninclude a search system 119 that identifies the resources by crawlingand indexing the resources provided by the publishers on the websites104. Data about the resources can be indexed based on the resource withwhich the data are associated. The indexed and, optionally, cachedcopies of the resources are stored in a search index 122. Data that areassociated with a resource is data that represents content included inthe resource and/or metadata for the resource.

User devices 106 can submit search queries to the search system 119 overthe network 102. In response, the search system 119 accesses the searchindex 122 to identify resources that are relevant to the search query.The search system 119 identifies the resources in the form of searchresults and returns the search results to the user device in searchresults page. A search result is data generated by the search system 119that identifies a resource that is responsive to a particular searchquery, and includes a link to the resource. An example search result caninclude a web page title, a snippet of text or a portion of an imageextracted from the web page, and the URL of the web page. Like otherresources, search results pages can include one or more content itemslots in which content items, such as advertisements, can be presented.

When a resource 105 is requested by a user device 106, execution of codeassociated with a slot in the resource initiates a request for a contentitem to the content distribution system 110 to populate the slot. Based,for example, on data included in the request for content, the contentdistribution system 110 can select content items that are eligible to beprovided in response to the request, such as content items havingcharacteristics matching the characteristics of a given slot. As anotherexample, content items having distribution criteria (e.g., keywords)that match the resource keywords or a search query may be selected aseligible content items by the content distribution system 110. One ormore selected content items can be provided to the user device 106 inassociation with providing an associated resource 105 or search results.

In some implementations, the content distribution system 110 can selectcontent items based at least in part on results of an auction. Forexample, an auction can be performed and the slots can be allocated tocontent sponsors 108 according, among other factors, to their bidsand/or the relevance of a content item to content presented on a pagehosting the slot or a request that is received for the content item. Forexample, when a slot is being allocated in an auction, the slot can beallocated to the content sponsor 108 that provided the highest bid orhas a highest auction score (e.g., a score that is computed as afunction of a bid and/or a quality measure). When multiple slots areallocated in a single auction, the slots can be allocated to a set ofbidders that provided the highest bids or have the highest auctionscores.

A content sponsor 108 or content provider can create a content campaignassociated with one or more content items using tools provided by thecontent distribution system 110. For example, the content distributionsystem 110 can provide one or more account management user interfacesfor creating and managing content campaigns. The account management userinterfaces can be made available to the content sponsor 108, forexample, either through an online interface provided by the contentdistribution system 110 or as an account management software applicationinstalled and executed locally at a content sponsor's client device.

A content sponsor 108 can, using the account management user interfaces,provide campaign parameters 124 which define a content campaign. Thecontent campaign can be created and activated for the content sponsor108 according to the campaign parameters 124 specified by the contentsponsor 108. The campaign parameters 124 can be stored in a parametersdata store 126. Campaign parameters 124 can include, for example, acampaign name, a preferred content network for placing content, a budgetfor the campaign, start and end dates for the campaign, a schedule forcontent placements, content items (e.g., creatives), bids, anddistribution criteria. Distribution criteria can include, for example, alanguage, one or more geographical locations or websites, and/or one ormore selection terms.

A bid for a content item can represent, for example, an amount that thecontent sponsor 108 is willing to spend for presentation of the contentitem. As a more particular example, a bid can specify an amount that thecontent sponsor 108 is willing to pay for distribution of a content itemto a user in a particular engagement category. As yet another example, abid can specify an amount the content sponsor 108 is willing to pay fordistribution of a content item to a user whose engagement category hasrecently changed to a particular engagement category.

An engagement category can describe a user's historical or recentinteraction with content, including a rate of interaction. For example,a determination may be made that a user generally reads at least athreshold amount of the content of a presented resource, or that theuser generally reads particular portions of a presented resource. Asanother example, a determination may be made that the user consumescontent of a resource at a threshold rate or slower, indicating that theuser is reading rather than skimming quickly through presented content.The user may be classified as being in a “content reader” engagementcategory based on such determinations. As another example, a user may beclassified as being in a “content skimmer” engagement category based ona determination that the user generally scrolls quickly through contentof a presented resource. Other engagement categories and groups ofengagement categories can be used. For example, engagement categoriescan include “highly-engaged”, “moderately-engaged”, and“slightly-engaged”.

A user's engagement category can be determined based on interaction data128 received by an engagement apparatus 130. The interaction data 128can be collected, for example, by one or more scripts provided by theengagement apparatus 130 or the content distribution system 110. The oneor more scripts can be provided, for example, in content items that arepresented in the content item slots 118. The one or more scripts candetermine, for example, content of the resource 114 that is possible tobe read (e.g., content that is on screen), content that a user isreading and a rate at which the content is being read, and anyinteractions that the user performs in association with the content.

The engagement apparatus 130 can collect and store interaction data fordifferent users over time. A current and one or more historicalengagement categories can be maintained on a per-user basis. A current(e.g., recent) engagement category can be determined, for example, basedon interactions occurring within a predetermined amount of time (e.g.,one hour, one day, one week) from the current time. In someimplementations, a user's engagement category can differ and beseparately determined for different device types that are used by theuser (e.g., mobile, desktop) and/or for different resources or types ofresources (e.g., sports content, news content) that are provided to theuser device.

The engagement apparatus 130 can compare a user's current engagementcategory to various, other engagement categories. For example, a currentengagement category of the user can be compared to a historicalengagement category for the user. As a more particular example, acurrent engagement category for a particular type of content (e.g.,sports content) consumed on a particular type of device (e.g., mobile)can be compared to a historical engagement category for the user forthat type of content on that type of device. Other examples includecomparing a user's current engagement category to an engagement categoryrepresentative of users in general.

The engagement apparatus 130 can determine, based on a comparison of thecurrent engagement category to some other engagement category, that theuser's current engagement category, for example, is of a higher or lowerlevel of engagement than the historical engagement category for theuser. As another example, the engagement apparatus 130 can determinethat the user's current engagement category is higher or lower than anengagement category representative of users in general.

As another example, the engagement apparatus 130 can compare a user'scurrent engagement category or a user's recent interactions to anengagement category or set of interactions previously determined to beassociated with a particular likelihood that the user may perform aparticular interaction (e.g., a selection of an advertisement orperformance of a conversion). The engagement apparatus 130 can determinea likelihood that the user may perform the particular interaction (e.g.,conversion) based on such a comparison. The engagement apparatus 130 canprovide information regarding a user's historical engagement categoriesor a user's current level of engagement to the content distributionsystem 110.

In response to a request for content from a user device 106, the contentdistribution system 110 can select a content item based, at least inpart, on the user's current engagement category, based on a detectedchange in the user's engagement category, or based on a comparison ofthe user's current engagement category to some other engagementcategory. For example, an auction can be conducted in response to therequest for content, and the content distribution system 110 canidentify a content item having a bid that indicates an amount a contentsponsor 108 will pay for distribution of the content item to a user in aparticular engagement category. A determination can be made that the bidis a winning bid for the auction, and in response to such adetermination, the content item can be provided to the requesting userdevice 106.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of an example process 200 for providing content.The process 200 can be performed by one or more data processingapparatus, such as the content distribution system 110 and/or theengagement apparatus 130 of FIG. 1 . Operations of the process 200 canbe implemented by execution of instructions stored on a non-transitorycomputer readable medium and that cause one or more data processingapparatus to perform operations of the process 200.

A first set of interaction data is received for a user (202). The firstset of interaction data can specify, for example, one or more types ofuser interactions with a resource over a first period of time and a ratewith which at least one of the types of user interactions occurred. Theinteraction data can be received, for example, from one or more scriptsthat are provided to a user device in association with the presentationof the resource at the user device. In some implementations, theinteraction data can include context information associated with theinteractions, such as a time of day, day of week, time of year, andlocation of the user when a particular interaction occurred. In someimplementations, the interaction data includes data that is specific tothe user. In some implementations, the interaction data specifiesaggregate user interaction data for users in general and does notinclude interaction data specific to the user,

The one or more scripts can determine, for example, content of theresource that is able to be consumed. For example, the one or morescripts can determine if the entire resource, including dynamic content,was successfully loaded and rendered. As another example, the one ormore scripts can determine what content of the resource is on-screenversus off-screen (e.g., “above-the-fold” versus “below-the-fold”). Forexample, the one or more scripts can determine one or more displaycharacteristics of the user device and an amount of the resource that isable to be presented on a display having such characteristics.

The interaction data can indicate content that was consumed (e.g., read)by the user. For example, the one or more scripts can generateinteraction data that corresponds to a user's use of various inputdevices or controls which can indicate content on which a user isfocused. For example, cursor interaction with text (e.g., a user movinga mouse pointer over words they are reading), selection of text (e.g., auser selecting text that they are reading, as a visual placeholder), andscrolling input (e.g., horizontal and/or vertical scrolling) canindicate content the user is reading.

Other interaction data can indicate that the user has consumedparticular portions of content. For example, the interaction data mayindicate that the user copied text or an image to a clipboard. Asanother example, the interaction data may indicate that the userselected and downloaded a copy of an image.

The interaction data can include timing data which correspond to ratesof interaction with content. A rate with which interactions occurred canindicate, for example, whether the user consumed (e.g., read) content,skipped the content, or skimmed certain portions of content. Forexample, the timing data can indicate a rate of cursor (e.g., mouse)movement over text portions, a rate of scrolling input, and an amount oftime that portions of the content were on-screen (e.g., content maybecome off-screen due to scrolling input, a closing or obscuring of abrowser window, or the loading of a different resource in the browser).

The interaction data can indicate an order that content of the resourcewas consumed. For example, the interaction data can indicate whether theuser consumed the content of the resource from top to bottom, or whetherthe user consumed the content in some other order, such as reading thebeginning, reading the end, and then reading a middle portion. Asanother example, the interaction data can indicate that the user read aparticular topmost portion (e.g., fifty percent of the content of theresource) but not the remainder of the resource.

A request for a content item to be provided to the user is received(204). For example, the request can be for a content item that will bepresented in a content item slot included in the resource. The requestcan include characteristics of the content item slot and an identifiercorresponding to the user (e.g., a number string corresponding to anaccount for the user). The request can include context informationassociated with context of the request, such as time and dateinformation, and/or location information.

A determination is made, based on the user interaction data, that theuser is in a first engagement category, from at least two differentengagement categories (206). For example, a determination can be madethat the user is in a content reader category rather than a contentskimmer category. The determination of the user's current engagementcategory can be based, for example, on recent interactions occurringwithin a predetermined amount of time (e.g., one hour, ten minutes, oneday) from the current time. The determination can include determiningthat the user's current engagement category is different from a previousengagement category associated with the user (e.g., the previousengagement category may be a content skimmer category and the determinedcurrent engagement category may be a content reader category).

In some implementations, some or all of the engagement categories areassociated with context information. For example, an engagement categorycan be associated with one or more time-related labels, such as “Mondaymorning”, “weekday morning”, or “weekend evening”. As other examples andin general, the content information associated with an engagementcategory can include one or more of a time of day of the request, a dayof week of the request, a time of year of the request, a location of therequest, or a type of content included in the resource (e.g., sportscontent, general news content).

The request for the content item can include context informationdescribing the context of the request and determining that the user isin the first engagement category can include matching the contextinformation included in the request to context information associatedwith the first engagement category. For example, determinations can bemade that the time of the request is “Monday morning”, which based onhistorical data may indicate that the user is likely reading rather thanskimming content of the resource, and a determination can be made that acontent type of the resource is “sports content”. Based on thesedeterminations, the user can be identified as being in a firstengagement category of “Monday morning sports-content reader”.

In some implementations, the resource is modified based on determiningthat the user is in the first engagement category. For example, if theuser is in a first engagement category of “Monday morning sports-contentreader”, the resource can be modified to present a full article ofsports-related content at the top of the resource, whereas the resourcemay generally only include snippets of articles when the user isdetermined to be skimming content for short periods of time (e.g.,during mid-week working hours) rather than taking the time to read afull article.

A content item having a first bid is identified (208). In someimplementations, the first bid specifies a first amount that a contentitem provider is willing to pay for distribution of the content item toa user in the first engagement category. The bid can be, for example, aCPM (Cost Per Mille) bid, which is an amount the content item provideris willing to pay for distribution of the content item to one thousandusers in the first engagement category. In another example, the bid canbe a CPC (Cost Per Click) or CPA (Cost Per Action) bid. A CPC bidspecifies an amount that the content item provider is willing to pay fora user click of the content item, and a CPA bid specifies an amount thatthe content item provider is willing to pay for some pre-specifiedaction, such as a user conversion (e.g., a sale).

A determination is made, based on the outcome of an auction performedusing the first bid, that the first bid is a winning bid (210). Theauction can be performed and a slot associated with the auction can beallocated to a content item provider according, among other factors, toprovided bids and/or the relevance of a content item to contentpresented on a page hosting the slot. For example, the slot can beallocated to the content item provider that provided the highest bid orhas a highest auction score (e.g., a score that is computed as afunction of a bid and/or a quality measure).

The content item is provided for presentation in response to the requestbased on the first bid being determined to be the winning bid (212). Forexample, the content item can be provided to a user device whichsubmitted the request for content, for presentation on the user device.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of an example process 300 for configuringdistribution of a content item. The process 300 can be performed by oneor more data processing apparatus, such as the content distributionsystem 110 and/or the engagement apparatus 130 of FIG. 1 . Operations ofthe process 300 can be implemented by execution of instructions storedon a non-transitory computer readable medium and that cause one or moredata processing apparatus to perform operations of the process 300.

Distribution criteria specifying that the content item is eligible to beprovided to users that are associated with the first engagement categoryis received from a content item provider (302). In some implementations,the distribution criteria are received through a campaign managementuser interface.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example campaign management user interface 400through which distribution criteria can be received. The user interface400 can be included, for example, in one or more user interfaces that auser, such as a content item provider, can use to configure a contentdistribution campaign. The content item provider can view a list 406 ofcampaigns by selecting a control 408 and can edit an existing campaignin a campaign configuration area 409 by selecting the name of anexisting campaign (e.g., a name 410) in the campaign list 406. In thecampaign configuration area 409, the content item provider can select acontent item associated with the campaign using a control 412. Thecontent item provider can indicate that the selected content item iseligible to be provided to users that are associated with a “contentreader” engagement category by selecting a control 414.

Referring again to FIG. 3 , the first bid is received from the contentitem provider (304). For instance, in the example user interface 400 ofFIG. 4 , the content item provider can specify a first bid using acontrol 416, where the first bid specifies an amount that the contentitem provider is willing to pay for distribution of the selected contentitem to a user in the content reader engagement category.

Distribution criteria specifying that the content item is eligible to beprovided to users that are associated with a second engagement categoryis received from the content item provider (306). In someimplementations, the second engagement category corresponds to a lowerlevel of engagement with content of the resource than the firstengagement category. For instance, in the example user interface 400 ofFIG. 4 , the content item provider can indicate that the selectedcontent item is eligible to be provided to users that are associatedwith a “content skimmer” engagement category by selecting a control 418.The content skimmer category can correspond to a lower level ofengagement with content of the resource than the content readercategory.

A second bid specifying a second amount that the content item provideris willing to pay for distribution of the content item to a user in thesecond engagement category is received from the content item provider(308). In some implementations, the second bid is different than thefirst bid. For instance, in the example user interface 400 of FIG. 4 ,the content item provider can specify a second bid using a control 420,where the second bid specifies an amount that the content item provideris willing to pay for distribution of the selected content item to auser in the content skimmer engagement category. In this example, thecontent item provider is willing to pay less for presentation of acontent item to a user in the content skimmer category than forpresentation of a content item to a user in the content reader category.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of an example process 500 for providing content.The process 500 can be performed by one or more data processingapparatus, such as the content distribution system 110 and/or theengagement apparatus 130 of FIG. 1 . Operations of the process 500 canbe implemented by execution of instructions stored on a non-transitorycomputer readable medium and that cause one or more data processingapparatus to perform operations of the process 500.

Updated interaction data specifying one or more types of userinteractions with a resource over a second period of time different froma first period of time is received (502). For example, the updatedinteraction data can be data that deviates from a reference set ofinteraction data for the user and/or is received at a later time thanthe reference set of interaction data. In some implementations, thereference set of interaction data correspond to user interactions thatoccurred during a first period of time, and the updated interaction datacorrespond to subsequent user interactions that occurred during a secondperiod of time that differs from the first period of time.

A determination is made, based on the updated interaction data, that theuser is in the second engagement category (504). For example, the usermay have been previously in a content reader category, but adetermination can be made, based on the updated interaction data, thatthe user is currently in a content skimmer category. For example, recentinteraction data in the updated interaction data may indicate that theuser has recently been scrolling quickly through content (e.g.,scrolling faster than would enable the reader to completely read thecontent). In some implementations, the determination is based on adeviation in a rate of consumption of content between the updatedinteraction data and a reference set of interaction data for the user.For example, if the content consumption rate deviates by more than athreshold amount, the user's engagement category can be updated toreflect the change in content consumption.

A second request for a content item to be provided to the user isreceived (506). For example, the second request can be received from auser device after the determination that the user is in the secondengagement category (whereas a first request for content may have beenreceived when the user was in the first engagement category).

A determination is made whether the second bid is a winning bid for asecond auction (508). The first auction may have been performed, forexample, when the user was in the first engagement category and thesecond auction may be performed when the user is in the secondengagement category. The second auction can be performed and a slotassociated with the auction can be allocated to a content item provideraccording, among other factors, to provided bids and/or the relevance ofa content item to content presented on a page hosting the slot. Forexample, the slot can be allocated to the content item provider thatprovided the highest bid or a highest auction score (e.g., a score thatis computed as a function of a bid and/or a quality measure).

If the second bid is a winning bid, a content item is provided inresponse to the second request associated with the winning bid for thesecond auction (510). For example, the content item can be provided to auser device which submitted the request for content, for presentation onthe user device.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of an example process 600 for determining anengagement category for a user. The process 600 can be performed by oneor more data processing apparatus, such as the engagement apparatus 130of FIG. 1 . Operations of the process 600 can be implemented byexecution of instructions stored on a non-transitory computer readablemedium and that cause one or more data processing apparatus to performoperations of the process 600.

A first set of user interactions that preceded a particular interactionwith a content item provided in response to a previous content itemrequest is determined, based on user interaction data (602). Thedetermination can be made, for example, based on user interaction dataassociated with a particular user and/or user interaction dataassociated with a set of users.

The particular interaction can be, for example, a conversion. Aconversion can be said to occur when a user performs a particulartransaction or action related to the content item. For example, aconversion may occur when a user consummates a purchase on a website towhich the user was redirected in response to the user interacting with acontent item. A content item provider can specify events that constitutea conversion, which can be any measurable or observable user action.Example conversions include a user downloading a white paper, navigatingto at least a given depth of a website, viewing at least a certainnumber of webpages, spending at least a predetermined amount of time ona web site or webpage, registering on a website, or experiencingparticular media.

The particular interaction can be an interaction other than aconversion. For example, the particular interaction can be the userreading a bottom-most portion of the content of a resource after havingread portions above the bottom-most portion.

The first set of user interactions can include, for example, reading atleast a threshold amount (e.g., 50%) of the content of a resource. Forexample, the user interaction data may indicate that the particular useror that users in general tend to be more likely to perform theparticular interaction (e.g., a conversion) after reading at least thethreshold amount of the resource.

As another example, the first set of user interactions can include, forexample, a scrolling-up interaction that follows one or more previousscrolling-down interactions. The user interaction data may indicate, forexample, that the particular user and/or that users in general tend tobe more likely to perform the particular interaction (e.g., aconversion), after scrolling down through the content and then scrollingback up through the content.

As yet another example, the first set of user interactions may indicatea change in a user's rate of consuming content from a rate associatedwith a content skimmer engagement category to a rate associated with acontent reader engagement category. A determination may be made that theslower content consumption rate is in effect for the user for at least apredetermined amount of time (e.g., two minutes). The user interactiondata may indicate, for example, that the particular user and/or thatusers in general tend to be more likely to perform the particularinteraction after a content consumption rate slows down.

A determination is made that a matching set of user interactions wereperformed within a pre-specified amount of time prior to a currentrequest for content (604). For example, the matching set of userinteractions can be user interactions that match the first set of userinteractions. The pre-specified amount of time can be, for example, twominutes, during a current user session, or within some other amount oftime.

A determination is made that the user is in a particular engagementcategory based on the determination that the matching set of userinteractions were performed within the pre-specified amount of timeprior to the request (606). For example, a determination can be madethat the user is in a likely-to-convert engagement category. Such adetermination can reflect an increased likelihood that the user mayperform the particular interaction (e.g., conversion), as compared tothe user being in some other, different engagement category.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of an example process 700 for providing areadership profile for a document. The process 700 can be performed byone or more data processing apparatus, such as the engagement apparatus130 of FIG. 1 . Operations of the process 700 can be implemented byexecution of instructions stored on a non-transitory computer readablemedium and that cause one or more data processing apparatus to performoperations of the process 700.

Presentation data for two or more presentations of a document isreceived (702). The presentation data for each presentation can specifyone or more portions of the document that were presented at a userdevice. For example, the document can be a sports news web page for asports team, and the sports news web page can include three portions, afirst portion including news content relating to the team, a secondportion including news content relating to the head coach of the team,and a third portion including news content relating to the players onthe team.

User interaction data representing user interactions with one or moreportions of content presented in the one or more portions of thedocument is received (704). The user interaction data can specify a typeof user interaction with a portion of content and a rate at which atleast one of the user interaction types occurred while the document waspresented at the user device. For example, user interaction data for thesports news web page can include user interaction data that indicatesthat a user consumed (e.g., read) news content included in first portion(e.g., content related to the team) and news content included in thethird portion (e.g., content related to the players on the team). Theuser interaction data can indicate, for example, that the user consumedthe content included in the third portion at a slower rate (e.g., a ratecorresponding to a content reader engagement category) than a rate ofconsumption for first portion (e.g., a rate corresponding to a contentskimmer engagement category). Similar user interaction data can bereceived for a plurality of users.

A measure of readership for the one or more portions of content isdetermined (706). In some implementations, the measure of readership foreach portion specifies a portion of users that read the portion ofcontent, with the determination being based, at least in part, on aspeed of occurrence for at least one user interaction being within arange corresponding to content being read. For example, for the sportsnews web page, a measure of readership can be determined which specifiesthat forty percent of users read the first portion including newscontent relating to the team, twenty percent of users read the secondportion including news content relating to the head coach of the team,and sixty percent of users read the third portion including news contentrelating to the players on the team.

The measure of readership can also include information relating tomultiple types of engagement categories. For example, in addition to theexample percentages described above relating to portions of users thatread particular portions of news content, the measure of readership caninclude information relating to portions of users that skimmedparticular portions of news content. For instance, for the sports newsweb page, the measure of readership can specify that forty percent ofusers skim the first portion including news content relating to theteam, forty five percent of users skim the second portion including newscontent relating to the head coach of the team, and thirty percent ofusers skim the third portion including news content relating to theplayers on the team.

A reader profile is provided for the document based on the measure ofreadership for the one or more portions of content (708). The readerprofile can be provided, for example, to a publisher associated with thedocument. As another example, the reader profile can be provided to acontent distribution system, for use in selecting content to bepresented in one or more content slots included in the document.

FIG. 8 is block diagram of an example computer system 800 that can beused to perform operations described above. The system 800 includes aprocessor 810, a memory 820, a storage device 830, and an input/outputdevice 840. Each of the components 810, 820, 830, and 840 can beinterconnected, for example, using a system bus 850. The processor 810is capable of processing instructions for execution within the system800. In one implementation, the processor 810 is a single-threadedprocessor. In another implementation, the processor 810 is amulti-threaded processor. The processor 810 is capable of processinginstructions stored in the memory 820 or on the storage device 830.

The memory 820 stores information within the system 800. In oneimplementation, the memory 820 is a computer-readable medium. In oneimplementation, the memory 820 is a volatile memory unit. In anotherimplementation, the memory 820 is a non-volatile memory unit.

The storage device 830 is capable of providing mass storage for thesystem 800. In one implementation, the storage device 830 is acomputer-readable medium. In various different implementations, thestorage device 830 can include, for example, a hard disk device, anoptical disk device, a storage device that is shared over a network bymultiple computing devices (e.g., a cloud storage device), or some otherlarge capacity storage device.

The input/output device 840 provides input/output operations for thesystem 800. In one implementation, the input/output device 840 caninclude one or more of a network interface devices, e.g., an Ethernetcard, a serial communication device, e.g., and RS-232 port, and/or awireless interface device, e.g., and 802.11 card. In anotherimplementation, the input/output device can include driver devicesconfigured to receive input data and send output data to otherinput/output devices, e.g., keyboard, printer and display devices 860.Other implementations, however, can also be used, such as mobilecomputing devices, mobile communication devices, set-top box televisionclient devices, etc.

Although an example processing system has been described in FIG. 8 ,implementations of the subject matter and the functional operationsdescribed in this specification can be implemented in other types ofdigital electronic circuitry, or in computer software, firmware, orhardware, including the structures disclosed in this specification andtheir structural equivalents, or in combinations of one or more of them.

Embodiments of the subject matter and the operations described in thisspecification can be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, or incomputer software, firmware, or hardware, including the structuresdisclosed in this specification and their structural equivalents, or incombinations of one or more of them. Embodiments of the subject matterdescribed in this specification can be implemented as one or morecomputer programs, i.e., one or more modules of computer programinstructions, encoded on computer storage medium for execution by, or tocontrol the operation of, data processing apparatus. Alternatively or inaddition, the program instructions can be encoded on anartificially-generated propagated signal, e.g., a machine-generatedelectrical, optical, or electromagnetic signal, that is generated toencode information for transmission to suitable receiver apparatus forexecution by a data processing apparatus. A computer storage medium canbe, or be included in, a computer-readable storage device, acomputer-readable storage substrate, a random or serial access memoryarray or device, or a combination of one or more of them. Moreover,while a computer storage medium is not a propagated signal, a computerstorage medium can be a source or destination of computer programinstructions encoded in an artificially-generated propagated signal. Thecomputer storage medium can also be, or be included in, one or moreseparate physical components or media (e.g., multiple CDs, disks, orother storage devices).

The operations described in this specification can be implemented asoperations performed by a data processing apparatus on data stored onone or more computer-readable storage devices or received from othersources.

The term “data processing apparatus” encompasses all kinds of apparatus,devices, and machines for processing data, including by way of example aprogrammable processor, a computer, a system on a chip, or multipleones, or combinations, of the foregoing The apparatus can includespecial purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gatearray) or an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). Theapparatus can also include, in addition to hardware, code that createsan execution environment for the computer program in question, e.g.,code that constitutes processor firmware, a protocol stack, a databasemanagement system, an operating system, a cross-platform runtimeenvironment, a virtual machine, or a combination of one or more of them.The apparatus and execution environment can realize various differentcomputing model infrastructures, such as web services, distributedcomputing and grid computing infrastructures.

A computer program (also known as a program, software, softwareapplication, script, or code) can be written in any form of programminglanguage, including compiled or interpreted languages, declarative orprocedural languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as astand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, object, orother unit suitable for use in a computing environment. A computerprogram may, but need not, correspond to a file in a file system. Aprogram can be stored in a portion of a file that holds other programsor data (e.g., one or more scripts stored in a markup languagedocument), in a single file dedicated to the program in question, or inmultiple coordinated files (e.g., files that store one or more modules,sub-programs, or portions of code). A computer program can be deployedto be executed on one computer or on multiple computers that are locatedat one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by acommunication network.

The processes and logic flows described in this specification can beperformed by one or more programmable processors executing one or morecomputer programs to perform actions by operating on input data andgenerating output. The processes and logic flows can also be performedby, and apparatus can also be implemented as, special purpose logiccircuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC(application-specific integrated circuit).

Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include, byway of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors, andany one or more processors of any kind of digital computer. Generally, aprocessor will receive instructions and data from a read-only memory ora random access memory or both. The essential elements of a computer area processor for performing actions in accordance with instructions andone or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. Generally,a computer will also include, or be operatively coupled to receive datafrom or transfer data to, or both, one or more mass storage devices forstoring data, e.g., magnetic, magneto-optical disks, or optical disks.However, a computer need not have such devices. Moreover, a computer canbe embedded in another device, e.g., a mobile telephone, a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a mobile audio or video player, a game console,a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, or a portable storage device(e.g., a universal serial bus (USB) flash drive), to name just a few.Devices suitable for storing computer program instructions and datainclude all forms of non-volatile memory, media and memory devices,including by way of example semiconductor memory devices, e.g., EPROM,EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, e.g., internal harddisks or removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROMdisks. The processor and the memory can be supplemented by, orincorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry.

To provide for interaction with a user, embodiments of the subjectmatter described in this specification can be implemented on a computerhaving a display device, e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquidcrystal display) monitor, for displaying information to the user and akeyboard and a pointing device, e.g., a mouse or a trackball, by whichthe user can provide input to the computer. Other kinds of devices canbe used to provide for interaction with a user as well; for example,feedback provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback, e.g.,visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input fromthe user can be received in any form, including acoustic, speech, ortactile input. In addition, a computer can interact with a user bysending documents to and receiving documents from a device that is usedby the user; for example, by sending web pages to a web browser on auser's client device in response to requests received from the webbrowser.

Embodiments of the subject matter described in this specification can beimplemented in a computing system that includes a back-end component,e.g., as a data server, or that includes a middleware component, e.g.,an application server, or that includes a front-end component, e.g., aclient computer having a graphical user interface or a Web browserthrough which a user can interact with an implementation of the subjectmatter described in this specification, or any combination of one ormore such back-end, middleware, or front-end components. The componentsof the system can be interconnected by any form or medium of digitaldata communication, e.g., a communication network. Examples ofcommunication networks include a local area network (“LAN”) and a widearea network (“WAN”), an inter-network (e.g., the Internet), andpeer-to-peer networks (e.g., ad hoc peer-to-peer networks).

The computing system can include clients and servers. A client andserver are generally remote from each other and typically interactthrough a communication network. The relationship of client and serverarises by virtue of computer programs running on the respectivecomputers and having a client-server relationship to each other. In someembodiments, a server transmits data (e.g., an HTML page) to a clientdevice (e.g., for purposes of displaying data to and receiving userinput from a user interacting with the client device). Data generated atthe client device (e.g., a result of the user interaction) can bereceived from the client device at the server.

While this specification contains many specific implementation details,these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of anyinventions or of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions offeatures specific to particular embodiments of particular inventions.Certain features that are described in this specification in the contextof separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in asingle embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described inthe context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multipleembodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination. Moreover,although features may be described above as acting in certaincombinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more featuresfrom a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from thecombination, and the claimed combination may be directed to asubcombination or variation of a subcombination.

Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particularorder, this should not be understood as requiring that such operationsbe performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, orthat all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirableresults. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processingmay be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various systemcomponents in the embodiments described above should not be understoodas requiring such separation in all embodiments, and it should beunderstood that the described program components and systems cangenerally be integrated together in a single software product orpackaged into multiple software products.

Thus, particular embodiments of the subject matter have been described.Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims. In somecases, the actions recited in the claims can be performed in a differentorder and still achieve desirable results. In addition, the processesdepicted in the accompanying figures do not necessarily require theparticular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirableresults. In certain implementations, multitasking and parallelprocessing may be advantageous.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: receiving, for a user,interaction data generated by a script embedded in a resource based oninteractions with content of the resource, wherein the interaction datais associated with interactions occurring during a first period of time;determining, using the interaction data generated by the script, atleast one of an amount of time that the content was on-screen or anamount of the resource viewed; determining, using the interaction datagenerated by the script, input device interactions comprising at leastone of cursor interaction with the content, selection of the content, orscrolling of the resource; and determining a first rate of engagementwith the resource based at least in part on the input deviceinteractions and the at least one of the amount of time that the contentwas on-screen or the amount of the resource viewed; receiving a requestfor a content item that can be read by the user, wherein the requestcomprises a second period of time associated with the request;determining, based on the interaction data, the user as being in a firstengagement category from at least two different engagement categories bymatching the first rate of engagement to a rate of engagement associatedwith the first engagement category; and selecting a content item topresent to the user in response to the request based at least in part ondetermining that the user is in the first engagement category; andcomparing the first period of time to the second period of time, whereinthe step of determining the user as being in the first engagementcategory is performed in response to identifying a correlation betweenthe first period of time and the second period of time.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, comprising: receiving, from the a content item provider,distribution criteria specifying that the content item is eligible to beprovided to users that are associated with the first engagementcategory; receiving, from the content item provider, a first bidspecifying a first amount that the content item provider is willing topay for distribution of the content item to the user in the firstengagement category; receiving, from the content item provider,distribution criteria specifying that the content item is eligible to beprovided to users that are associated with a second engagement category,the second engagement category corresponding to a lower level ofengagement with content of the resource than the first engagementcategory; and receiving, from the content item provider, a second bidspecifying a second amount that the content item provider is willing topay for distribution of the content item to a user in the secondengagement category, the second bid being different than the first bid.3. The method of claim 2, comprising: receiving updated interaction dataindicating interactions of the user with the resource or a secondresource; determining, based on the updated interaction data, that theuser is in the second engagement category; receiving a second requestfor a content item to be provided to the user; determining whether thesecond bid is a winning bid for a second auction; and providing, inresponse to the second request, a content item associated with thewinning bid for the second auction.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein:receiving updated interaction data comprises receiving interaction datathat deviates from a reference set of interaction data for the user; anddetermining that the user is in a second engagement category comprisesdetermining, based on the deviation, that the user is in the secondengagement category.
 5. The method of claim 2, further comprisingproviding a campaign management interface that enables a content itemprovider to select, for the first content item one or more engagementcategories to be associated with the content item, the association of anengagement category with the content item indicating that the contentitem is eligible for distribution to users determined to be in theengagement category.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein determining thatthe user is in the first engagement category comprises: determining,based on the interaction data, a first set of user interactions thatpreceded a particular interaction with a content item provided inresponse to a previous content item request; determining that a matchingset of user interactions were performed within a pre-specified amount oftime prior to the request, the matching set of user interactions beinguser interactions that match the first set of user interactions; anddetermining that the user is in the first engagement category based onthe determination that the matching set of user interactions wereperformed within the pre-specified amount of time prior to the request.7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving presentationdata for two or more presentations of a document, the presentation datafor each presentation specifying a portion of the document that werepresented at a user device; receiving user interaction data representinguser interactions with a portion of content presented in the portion ofthe document, the user interaction data specifying a type of userinteraction with the portion of content and a rate at which at least oneof the user interaction types occurred while the document was presentedat the user device; determining, based on the interaction data, ameasure of readership for the portion of content, the measure ofreadership for the portion specifying a portion of users that read theportion of content, the determination being based, at least in part, ona speed of occurrence for at least one user interaction being within arange corresponding to content being read; and providing a readerprofile for the document based on the measure of readership for theportion of content.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein: the interactiondata is associated with interactions occurring during a first period oftime; the request comprises a second period of time associated with therequest; and the method further comprises comparing the first period oftime to the second period of time, wherein the step of determining theuser as being in the first engagement category is performed in responseto identifying a correlation between the first period of time and thesecond period of time.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the engagementcategories are each associated with context information, the request forthe content item includes first context information describing thecontext of the request, and determining that the user is in the firstengagement category comprises matching the first context information tosecond context information associated with the first engagementcategory.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the first contextinformation includes at least one of a time of day of the request, a dayof week of the request, a time of year of the request, a location of therequest, or a type of content included in the resource.
 11. The methodof claim 9, wherein the first set of interaction data specifiesaggregate user interaction data for multiple different users.
 12. Themethod of claim 9, further comprising modifying content of the resourcebased on determining that the user is in the first engagement category.13. A non-transitory computer storage medium encoded with a computerprogram, the program comprising instructions that when executed by oneor more data processing apparatus cause the one or more data processingapparatus to perform operations comprising: receiving, for a user,interaction data generated by a script embedded in a resource based oninteractions with content of the resource, wherein the interaction datais associated with interactions occurring during a first period of time;determining, using the interaction data generated by the script, atleast one of an amount of time that the content was on-screen or anamount of the resource viewed; determining, using the interaction datagenerated by the script, input device interactions comprising at leastone of cursor interaction with the content, selection of the content, orscrolling of the resource; and determining a first rate of engagementwith the resource based at least in part on the input deviceinteractions and the at least one of the amount of time that the contentwas on-screen or the amount of the resource viewed; receiving a requestfor a content item to be provided to the user, wherein the requestcomprises a second period of time associated with the request;determining, based on the interaction data, the user as being in a firstengagement category from at least two different engagement categories bymatching the first rate of engagement to a rate of engagement associatedwith the first engagement category; and selecting a content item topresent to the user in response to the request based at least in part ondetermining that the user is in the first engagement category; andcomparing the first period of time to the second period of time, whereinthe step of determining the user as being in the first engagementcategory is performed in response to identifying a correlation betweenthe first period of time and the second period of time.
 14. The computerstorage medium of claim 13, wherein the instructions cause the one ormore data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:receiving, from the content item provider, distribution criteriaspecifying that the content item is eligible to be provided to usersthat are associated with the first engagement category; receiving, fromthe content item provider, a first bid specifying a first amount thatthe content item provider is willing to pay for distribution of thecontent item to the user in the first engagement category; receiving,from the content item provider, distribution criteria specifying thatthe content item is eligible to be provided to users that are associatedwith a second engagement category, the second engagement categorycorresponding to a lower level of engagement with content of theresource than the first engagement category; and receiving, from thecontent item provider, a second bid specifying a second amount that thecontent item provider is willing to pay for distribution of the contentitem to a user in the second engagement category, the second bid beingdifferent than the first bid.
 15. The computer storage medium of claim13 14, wherein the instructions cause the one or more data processingapparatus to perform operations comprising: receiving updatedinteraction data indicating interactions of the user with the resourceor a second resource; determining, based on the updated interactiondata, that the user is in the second engagement category; receiving asecond request for a content item to be provided to the user;determining whether the second bid is a winning bid for a secondauction; and providing, in response to the second request, a contentitem associated with the winning bid for the second auction.
 16. Thecomputer storage medium of claim 13, wherein the instructions cause theone or more data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:providing a campaign management interface that enables a content itemprovider to select, for the content item, one or more engagementcategories to be associated with the content item, the association of anengagement category with the content item indicating that the contentitem is eligible for distribution to users determined to be in theengagement category.
 17. A system comprising: a data storage devicestoring a content item provided by a content item provider; and one ormore data processing apparatus that interact with the data storagedevice and execute instructions that cause the one or more dataprocessing apparatus to perform operations comprising: receiving, for auser, interaction data generated by a script embedded in a resourcebased on interactions with content of the resource, wherein theinteraction data is associated with interactions occurring during afirst period of time; determining, using the interaction data generatedby the script, at least one of an amount of time that the content wason-screen or an amount of the resource viewed; determining, using theinteraction data generated by the script, input device interactionscomprising at least one of cursor interaction with the content,selection of the content, or scrolling of the resource; and determininga first rate of engagement with the resource based at least in part onthe input device interactions and the at least one of the amount of timethat the content was on-screen or the amount of the resource viewed;receiving a request for a content item to be provided to the user,wherein the request comprises a second period of time associated withthe request; determining, based on the interaction data, the user asbeing in a first engagement category from at least two differentengagement categories by matching the first rate of engagement to a rateof engagement associated with the first engagement category; andselecting a content item to present to the user in response to therequest based at least in part on determining that the user is in thefirst engagement category; and comparing the first period of time to thesecond period of time, wherein the step of determining the user as beingin the first engagement category is performed in response to identifyinga correlation between the first period of time and the second period oftime.
 18. The system of claim 17, wherein the instructions cause the oneor more data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:receiving, from the content item provider, distribution criteriaspecifying that the content item is eligible to be provided to usersthat are associated with the first engagement category; receiving, fromthe content item provider, a first bid specifying a first amount thatthe content item provider is willing to pay for distribution of thecontent item to the user in the first engagement category; receiving,from the content item provider, distribution criteria specifying thatthe content item is eligible to be provided to users that are associatedwith a second engagement category, the second engagement categorycorresponding to a lower level of engagement with content of theresource than the first engagement category; and receiving, from thecontent item provider, a second bid specifying a second amount that thecontent item provider is willing to pay for distribution of the contentitem to a user in the second engagement category, the second bid beingdifferent than the first bid.
 19. The system of claim 17 18, wherein theinstructions cause the one or more data processing apparatus to performoperations comprising: receiving updated interaction data indicatinginteractions of the user with the resource or a second resource;determining, based on the updated interaction data, that the user is inthe second engagement category; receiving a second request for a contentitem to be provided to the user; determining whether the second bid is awinning bid for a second auction; and providing, in response to thesecond request, a content item associated with the winning bid for thesecond auction.
 20. The system of claim 17, wherein the instructionscause the one or more data processing apparatus to perform operationscomprising: providing a campaign management interface that enables acontent item provider to select, for the content item, one or moreengagement categories to be associated with the content item, theassociation of an engagement category with the content item indicatingthat the content item is eligible for distribution to users determinedto be in the engagement category.
 21. A method, comprising: receiving,for a user, interaction data generated by a script embedded in aresource based on user interactions with content, wherein theinteraction data is associated with interactions occurring during afirst period of time; determining, using the interaction data generatedby the script, at least one of an amount of time that the content wason-screen or an amount of the resource viewed; classifying an engagementof the user with the content as a first rate of engagement based atleast in part on the at least one of the amount of time that the contentwas on-screen or the amount of the resource viewed; receiving a requestfor a content item that can be displayed to the user, wherein therequest comprises a second period of time associated with the request;determining, based on the interaction data, the user as being in a firstengagement category from at least two different engagement categories bymatching the first rate of engagement to a rate of engagement associatedwith the first engagement category; selecting a content item to presentto the user in response to the request based at least in part ondetermining that the user is in the first engagement category receiving,from a content item provider, distribution criteria specifying that thecontent item is eligible to be provided to users that are associatedwith the first engagement category; and comparing the first period oftime to the second period of time, wherein the step of determining theuser as being in the first engagement category is performed in responseto identifying a correlation between the first period of time and thesecond period of time.
 22. The method of claim 21, further comprisingreceiving from a content item provider a rule specifying one or morecharacteristics that the content item provider wishes to use to selectan audience and selecting the content item based on the rule.
 23. Themethod of claim 22, wherein the rule is an inclusive rule specifying oneor more target characteristics.
 24. The method of claim 22, wherein therule is an exclusive rule specifying one or more excludedcharacteristics.